The Renaissance

What is the Renaissance? We hear about works of art from the Renaissance period, and in history lessons, etc. but what exactly is the Renaissance?
Merriam Webster’s online dictionary defines ‘Renaissance’ as:

Renaissance

Pronunciation: \ˌre-nə-ˈsän(t)s, -ˈzän(t)s, -ˈsäⁿs, -ˈzäⁿs, ˈre-nə-ˌ, chiefly British ri-ˈnā-sən(t)s\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French, from Middle French, rebirth, from Old French renaistre to be born again, from Latin renasci, from re- + nasci to be born — more at nation
Date: 1845
1 capitalized a : the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science b : the period of the Renaissance c : the neoclassic style of architecture prevailing during the Renaissance
2 often capitalized : a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity
3 : rebirth, revival


Whereas ‘historyworld.net’ calls this the ‘Renaissance’:

The word is French for 'rebirth'. Historians first use it (from about 1840) for the period from the 14th to the 16th century, implying a rediscovery of rational civilization (exemplified by Greece and Rome) after the medieval centuries - seen as superstitious and artistically primitive. The term 'Middle Ages', also coined by historians, makes the same point in a different way - defining the medieval period merely as the gap between classical and modern civilization.

Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac88#ixzz0RrNAjGK1.

And at history-world.org the ‘Renaissance’ is called this:

The term Renaissance, literally means "rebirth" and is the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages, conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values. The Renaissance also witnessed the discovery and exploration of new continents, the substitution of the Copernican for the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the decline of the feudal system and the growth of commerce, and the invention or application of such potentially powerful innovations as paper, printing, the mariner's compass, and gunpowder. To the scholars and thinkers of the day, however, it was primarily a time of the revival of classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation.

Read more:
http://history-world.org/renaissance.htm
So from these three citations we see that the Renaissance was the period of time immediately after the Middle Ages, and was a time of great art and literature. Renaissance is French for ‘Rebirth’, so we can assume that the Renaissance is called thus because of the revival of art, science, and literature during that period, as opposed to the Medieval times that preceded it.